


A Romance, in Four Acts

by Author_of_Kheios



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Smut, Multi, Post-Canon, Threesome - M/M/M, Wire Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:54:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23907259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_of_Kheios/pseuds/Author_of_Kheios
Summary: Lucio and Baptiste decide to befriend the lonely Bastion unit... only to find something more.
Relationships: Bastion & Ganymede (Overwatch), Bastion & Torbjörn Lindholm, Bastion/Lúcio Correia dos Santos, Jean-Baptiste Augustin/Bastion, Jean-Baptiste Augustin/Lúcio Correia dos Santos, Jean-Baptiste Augustin/Lúcio Correia dos Santos/Bastion, Lúcio Correia dos Santos & Hana "D.Va" Song, Torbjörn Lindholm & Reinhardt Wilhelm
Comments: 16
Kudos: 26





	1. ACT 1: The Olive Branch

**Author's Note:**

> I WAS CHALLENGED! _you know who you are_...
> 
> anyway, i was constrained to a maximum of 6000 words, and i did it. took a bit of word wrangling, but i did it. and for once you get a chapter story! i'll post one chapter a night for the next four days, so be sure to check back!
> 
> also, this story is _technically_ a sequel to _[Broken Pottery](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23881030)_ , but you don't _have_ to read it to enjoy this one, it just establishes the existing Luciste relationship. however, i would not recommend reading that if you have any sort of sensitivity toward rape/noncon. fortunately, there are no such warnings in this fic, so enjoy the cutesy fluff! and don't forget to kudos, comment and subscribe for more overwatch fluff!

"I said stop following me around!"

Lucio sits up, leaning forward to peek around the corner of the little nook in the garden where he and Baptiste have been relaxing for most of the day.

"Sounds like Torb isn't happy," Baptiste muses without moving from his lounging position. Lucio swats his leg with the back of his hand.

"It's that Bastion unit," he says, standing to watch while the Bastion plods into the garden and settles beside the fountain to stare at the fish in the water. It seems content to just sit there, but the air of loneliness around it is so strong that even Lucio is affected.

"What are you thinking,  _ ti krapo _ ?" Baptiste asks, pushing up to his elbows. "You've got that look on your face."

"What look?" Lucio returns, blinking innocently at his partner. "This is just my face."

"Uh huh, and I'm an omnic," Baptiste deadpans.

"Okay, but look at him," Lucio says, waving a hand at the Bastion now poking the water and making the fish scatter. "He just wants a friend."

"The half-sentient killer sentry turret wants a friend," Baptiste echoes sceptically.

"Baptiste..." Lucio scolds.

"What? I'm being realistic, Luc; those things killed by the thousands during the crisis."

"So? Are you saying they can't change?"

"They aren't even true AI," Baptiste argues. "Not like Zenyatta or Echo, or even that new one; the OR-15. Even she has more AI capability than a Bastion sentry."

A very loud twittering interrupts, and they both look over to see a plump yellow bird swoop around in circles over the Bastion's head. It looks up, and immediately the air of loneliness is gone as it beeps and boo-woops at the bird, who chirps back as if in conversation. The Bastion holds up its hand, one finger curled as a perch, and the bird alights as naturally as a branch. The two exchange a few more turns of lyrical conversation, and then the bird takes off, flying away into the bushes. The Bastion turns its hand palm out in that direction and curls its fingers in a cute little wave, and then returns to staring at the fish.

"...You were saying?" Lucio smirks at Baptiste, who sighs and stands, dusting off his hands and the seat of his pants.

"Yeah, yeah; save your I-told-you-so's. Are we talking to him?" He gestures for Lucio to approach. Lucio grins and pats his cheek before rounding the corner and holding up his hands so the Bastion doesn't panic.

There's still chunks of plaster missing from the hanger wall from the last time someone startled it; the newbie responsible barely made it out alive, and that only after two weeks of intensive care, plus four of recovery. He didn't stay after that.

"Hey," Lucio croons, putting his singing voice to good use. "How's it hanging, big guy?"

The Bastion looks up, head tipping with a curious chirp. The light of its optic blinks off and on again, and Lucio smiles at it, approaching slowly.

"I have a game to play, if you're interested."

_ "Woo-oo?" _

"Yeah. Tic-Tac-Toe. Played before?" Lucio sits on the ground beside the fountain, keeping his hands in sight. Using a finger, he draws lines in the dirt and puts an X in one corner. The Bastion watches, optic blinking again, and then reaches out, extending a finger to draw another X in the opposite corner.

Lucio laughs. Reaching out, he carefully guides Bastion's hand, drawing a circle over the X.

"Unless you'd rather be X's," he grins. The Bastion purrs and lays its hand out flat, wiping away the corner and then redrawing the lines before making an O in the corner. "There you go. And you just try to get three in a row."

_ "Brrr-rrp!" _ The Bastion draws another O in the square above, and then a third above that.

"Wait, wait!" Lucio laughs, waving him away. "We're supposed to take turns!" The Bastion makes a sad noise and wipes the entire side clean, redrawing lines and putting the O back in the corner.

_ "Doo?" _

"Yeah," Lucio smiles, drawing another X beside the first. "Now you would want to go here, that way I don't win."

_ "Woo-woo-woo." _ The Bastion draws a circle in that corner.

"Just like that," Lucio approves, adding an X above his first one. The Bastion pauses and looks up at him, then down at the marks in the dirt, and then back up at him again.

_ "Doo-doo-doo-doo." _ He draws another O, making a line of them.

"Look at that, man!" Lucio beams, patting his hand. "You won! Again?" The Bastion whirrs disapprovingly and it shakes a finger at him. "Hey, come on; I had to go easy on you your first time! Next time it'll be a challenge, promise."

The Bastion purrs again, apparently delighted by that, and wipes away the entire game, redrawing the lines. Lucio goes for the middle, and the Bastion claims the nearest corner. Lucio takes the opposite corner, which seems to confuse the Bastion for a moment, and it tentatively draws an O above its first choice. Grinning, Lucio puts an X in the corner to cut him off, and the Bastion reaches for the far middle, only to pause as it realises its mistake.

_ "Brrr!" _ It points to the spot it was going for, and then at the last corner, going back and forth between the two.

"Not so easy now is it?" Lucio teases. "That's one win for you, and one win for me. One more to break the tie?"

"It's going to end in a tie," Baptiste calls from where he's perched on the other side of the fountain, watching them in amusement.

"Shh!" Lucio hisses at him, trying and failing to contain his laughter.

_ "Boop-oop?" _ The Bastion cocks its head at Baptiste, optic blinking as it looks at Lucio.

"Don't listen to him; it could go either way," the musician assures, wiping the game away and redrawing it. "Here, you can even go first this time."

The Bastion considers, and draws an O in the middle. Lucio drops an X in the middle space on his side. The Bastion puts another O opposite Lucio's. Lucio draws an X in the far corner, and the Bastion starts to reach forward before stopping. It tips its head, eyeing the board, and after a moment places its next O in the corner on the same side as Lucio's X. Chuckling, Lucio puts his next X in the opposite corner to stop the three in a row, leaving one row along the middle as a possible win for the Bastion, and one row along the side as a possible win for Lucio. The Bastion draws an O above that X, destroying Lucio's chance at winning, and Lucio puts one last X on the opposite side, ending the game in a tie.

"Told you," Baptiste snickers.

"Oh hush," Lucio laughs. "So? Did you have fun?"

_ "Woop-woo!" _ The Bastion nods.  _ "Boo-brr?" _ It points to the marks in the dirt.

"Again? I'm actually gonna get some lunch, but maybe this afternoon? Or we could go for a walk?"

"There's a trail along the cliffside that leads to a beach," Baptiste offers, standing. "Or so I hear."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Lucio agrees, also standing and stretching his back. "What do you think?" He looks at the Bastion, which cocks its head at them, optic blinking.

_ "Bweee?" _

"Yeah, a beach. You'll like it, I think, as long as you don't get wet."

_ "Bweee. Bweee!" _

"Sounds like a 'yes' to me," Lucio laughs. "Meet you back here this afternoon, okay?"

_ "Bweee," _ the Bastion purrs.

"Does he have a name?" Baptiste wonders aloud, joining Lucio.

"You know, that's a good question," the musician says, propping his arm up by his jaw and tapping it in thought. "I don't think Torb ever named him... Say, what's your model number?" The Bastion looks between them, then turns its entire torso and looks down at itself, raising its hand to touch the faded lettering on the side of its chest.

"E-54?" Lucio reads. "E-54... 54... Nah, it doesn't feel right. Just... Bastion fits better."

"The easiest names are often the best," Baptiste agrees.

"Perfect!" Lucio grins. "You okay with us calling you Bastion?"

_ "Doo-weeee!" _ Bastion nods.

"Sweet. See you here after lunch, Bastion!"


	2. ACT 2: Curiosity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of this hails back to Broken Pottery; namely, Lucio being ace. It's not actually a headcanon of mine, but i started this the day after i finished Broken Pottery, so that idea was still fresh in my head and i went with it.

Lucio is perched in Baptiste's lap in the musician's room, kissing him languidly, when Baptiste stiffens slightly and breaks away just enough to speak.

"We have an audience."

"Hana, I promised we'd play-" Lucio cuts off as he glances over his shoulder and realises it isn't Hana coming to pester him about their scheduled game; Bastion stands to the side of the door, head tipped curiously to watch them. "Oh, Bastion. Hi. Um... We were just..."

"Kissing," Baptiste explains bluntly.

"Baptiste," Lucio scolds.

"What? No sense in lying."

_ "Woo-wee?" _

Lucio sighs, giving Baptiste a dark look that earns him a snicker in response, and stands, gesturing for Bastion to enter.

"Kissing is... Well, I guess it's a sort of way for people to connect," he explains, ushering Bastion into the room and motioning for him to sit. There's not a lot of space, but after the first week of Bastion's visits, Lucio and Baptiste adjusted quickly.

Bastion plops down with a loud  _ THUNK _ , and glances at his hand, swapping it for the repair tool stored in his arm. Raising it, he waves it with a curious chirp.

"Er, not quite," Lucio chuckles. "See, sometimes a person finds someone they really like, and who likes them back, and if you both agree, then you become partners, and partners generally like connecting however they can, showing affection; that kinda thing."

_ "Ooo-eee-boo," _ Bastion hums thoughtfully. Swapping back to his hand, he taps his faceplate.  _ "Beee?" _

Lucio blinks and casts a helpless glance at Baptiste, who just laughs and waves at him.

"No way,  _ ti krapo _ ; you got yourself into this. Have fun."

"I didn't think I'd have to explain the birds and the bees to an omnic!" Lucio protests, blushing.

"Relax," Baptiste grins, leaning back on his hands. "He's naive, not stupid; give him enough hints and you won't have to spell it out."

"I hate you so much."

"You love me. Now tell our robo-baby about sex."

"Jean-Baptiste Augustin!"

"Thank Goddess you don't know my middle name," Baptiste laughs.

"Shut up, or you're banned from my room!" Lucio threatens. Baptiste quickly raises his hands in surrender and flops back on the bed with his hands behind his head. Huffing, Lucio turns back to Bastion. "Alright, this might take a while, but bear with me, okay?"

_ "Oo-waa." _

Lucio does his best to explain how dating works, then differentiates between dating and marriage as best he can, and finally fumbles his way through the most awkward part: how babies are made. Bastion listens in rapt attention, without interruption, and when Lucio goes quiet, unsure what else to say, he points at first at Lucio, then at Baptiste.

_ "Doo-boo?" _

"Yeah, we're dating," Lucio confirms, his blush returning for the nth time. Baptiste smiles warmly, adoration in his gaze.

_ "Bee-bee?" _ Bastion asks. Lucio wrinkles his nose, blush deepening.

"No, we're not- we can't have a baby. You need male and female for that; we're both male."

"Doesn't mean we can't enjoy the attempts," Baptiste teases, wiggling his brows. Lucio shoots him a dark look.

"No."

_ "Doo doo-boo?" _ Bastion questions. Lucio hesitates, for a moment not quite sure what he's asking. Bastion points between them and reaches over to take Lucio's hand.

"Oh, still dating; yes," he answers. "Not everyone dates because they want to get married or have kids. You don't have to want kids with someone to love them."

_ "Beeh?" _ Bastion points at the bed.

"Sex? Um... no," Lucio admits sheepishly.

"Lucio is asexual," Baptiste supplies for him. "That means he doesn't like sex as much as most people do. For him, the relationship is more important."

Bastion purrs, and then seems to sigh.

"What's wrong?" Lucio asks, mildly concerned. Bastion points at each of them with a beep, and then points at himself and heaves another sigh. "Oh."

"Hey, you don't need a relationship to have loved ones, you know," Baptiste says, sitting up and reaching over to lay his hand on Bastion's shoulder. "If you care about someone, and they care about you, you can still be friends, and friends are important too."

_ "Bweeh?" _ Bastion whirrs hopefully, glancing between them.

"Yeah," Lucio smiles. "We're definitely your friends. And so is that bird of yours."

_ "Bweeh doo," _ Bastion purrs, content. Standing carefully, he leaves, and neither of them try to stop him; he has a habit of wandering, and most everyone in the base has given up trying to curb that tendency, as long as he isn't getting into trouble or going places he shouldn't.

After he's gone, Lucio moves to the bed, flopping facedown beside Baptiste, who chuckles and rubs at the back of his neck.

"That was impressive," he admits.

"I feel like I just friendzoned a robot," Lucio mumbles, muffled by the pillow. "It's a weird feeling."

"Not interested in a poly relationship? Or just not interested in omnics?" Baptiste asks, curious. Lucio shifts to look at him, brow furrowed.

"I hadn't really thought about it... What about you? You were pretty against even talking to him a week ago."

"Old habits die hard," Baptiste shrugs. "You've shown me that most people are far more than they first appear, and Bastion is not only more of a person than I thought, he's grown faster than anyone I've ever met. A week ago, no one wanted to go near him for fear of an accidental bullet to the face. Now... Well, yesterday, Pharah's booster malfunctioned and she accidentally collided with him while he was on standby. He just tried to help her up, and it even sounded like  _ he _ was the one apologising." He smiles and reaches over to flick at Lucio's dreads. "You've been a great influence on him."

"But doesn't that make it even weirder to date him?" Lucio grimaces. "We basically made him what he is; isn't that like... grooming or something?"

"Not at all!" Baptiste assures. "Grooming is intentional, moulding a person into what  _ you _ want them to be, for  _ your _ purposes. All you've been doing is showing Bastion  _ how _ to be himself."

Lucio doesn't reply, staring thoughtfully into the middle distance and idly scratching his nails over the pillowcase.

"...Do you _ want _ to try dating him?" Baptiste asks finally, sensing a bit of inner turmoil. Lucio blinks and looks up at him.

"Do  _ you _ ?" he asks in return. Baptiste considers that.

"I'm not sure. But I will admit, he's almost as adorable as you are."

"Flatterer," Lucio scoffs, hiding a smile. Baptiste grins at him and leans over to kiss his cheek.

"If you're at all curious," he answers seriously, "I am willing to give it a try. Assuming of course that Bastion is also interested."

"How would it even work?" Lucio hums, more thinking aloud than actually asking a question. "Our relationship is already weird enough because of me."

"Not weird," Baptiste corrects, stroking a hand over Lucio's back. "Unique. I wouldn't give it up for anything. And it'll be the same with Bastion; he's a different kind of unique than you are, but we'll figure it out."

"Mm." Lucio smiles and rolls onto his back, holding out his arms in invitation. "How did I get so lucky to have you?"

"Pretty sure I'm the lucky one," Baptiste chuckles, accepting the invitation and pinning Lucio to the bed to kiss him between words. "But by all means, please continue to sing my praises."

"Someone's entitled," Lucio snickers.

"Ugh, so disgusting!" They both look up to see Hana smirking and videoing them. "I swear, one of you is going to end up devouring the other one of these days."

"How about I eat you for interrupting?" Baptiste offers.

"Be nice," Lucio scolds, swatting him and wiggling out from under him. "Game time, Han?"

"Damn right!" she chirps, putting away her phone. "Prepare to become a mop, frogger! Also, I'm keeping the video."

"Not if I win, you're not!" Lucio promises, grabbing his headphones from his work table and blowing a kiss to Baptiste on his way out. "Love you!"

"Well," Baptiste chuckles after they're gone. "Might as well go find Bastion, then."


	3. ACT 3: Exploration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at last we come to the reason for the rating.
> 
> well... the first reason. ene the next chapter has a bit of violence, so
> 
> have some wireplay! XD

"Are you sure you wanna try this?" Lucio asks, not for the first time.

He and Baptiste have technically been dating Bastion for three weeks now, but nothing much has changed compared to the first week; they spend more time with him when they aren't training or gone on missions, and now he sometimes sleeps in Lucio's room instead of in the garden, but otherwise it's been much the same, and Bastion has expressed a frustration that he doesn't understand. After much discussion, they collectively decided he wanted  _ more _ , but couldn't figure out what that 'more' entailed. Baptiste, after a private conversation each with Echo and Zenyatta, suggested they try a bit of wireplay to see if physical gratification was a part of it.

_ "Woo-oo woo-oo!" _ Bastion nods, reconfiguring to sentry mode and turning so they can access his central processors.

Still a bit hesitant, Lucio ― who's a bit more engineering savvy than Baptiste ― carefully opens up the glowing blue cover to reveal Bastion's core. He pauses for a moment, admiring the simple complexity, the organised chaos; Bastion is a walking contradiction in so many ways.

"It's beautiful," Baptiste says softly, amazed. He lays a hand on Bastion's casing, and the omnic purrs happily, the faint glow of his core pulsing warmer.

"I'm gonna touch the wires one by one, okay?" Lucio wipes his hands on his pants, trying not to be nervous and hoping it isn't obvious at least. Reaching inside slowly, he finds a large black cord that may actually be a tube, and gently strokes at it.

Bastion beeps questioningly, and his chassis gives a little shudder, like he's shaking something off.

"Not that one," Baptiste notes, absently stroking Bastion's casing. Lucio moves a little deeper, brushing up against a smaller silver wire.

Bastion shudders again, more violently this time, and lets out chittering noises that sound like laughter. Baptiste snickers, stroking purposefully now.

"I think that one's ticklish."

"You wanna try?" Lucio snorts, avoiding the silver wire and reaching a bit farther to the thin bundle of grey and green wires he was aiming for in the first place. Baptiste doesn't get a chance to answer; Bastion whirrs, shivering, and steam vents along his chassis pop open with a hiss.

Lucio goes still, and Baptiste runs his hand along a seam to touch one of the vents.

"Was that it, Bastion?" he asks gently, caressing the vent lightly. A puff of warm air fogs his hand, and Bastion's purr is near constant now.

Cautiously, Lucio rubs the bundle of wires between his fingers, and Bastion basically melts; his joints loosen and sag, his barrel falls forward, bringing his entire body up and almost wrenching Lucio's arm out of its socket. He practically sprawls, a soft whine escaping from somewhere deep inside, and Baptiste and Lucio exchange hopeful glances.

Adjusting, Lucio finds the bundle of wires again and carefully strokes the length of it, whatever he can reach, moving slowly and hooking his fingers firmly around it but not squeezing. Bastion truly melts, as boneless as a creature made of metal can get, and the whine turns desperate, his entire chassis shuddering in waves.

"I never knew an omnic could look so vulnerable," Baptiste murmurs, crouching beside Bastion and petting him.

_ "Wooooo..." _ Bastion shudders again. Lucio bites his lip and slowly squeezes a little tighter as he strokes, watching for any sign that it's too much.

A jolt runs through Bastion, and suddenly he's shaking violently, metal clattering.

_ "Doo-bee-oo!" _ He collapses just as suddenly, and for a moment, neither Lucio nor Baptiste moves, staring in surprise.

"Did... he just say my name?" Lucio whispers, unable to look away from the shivering pile of metal venting enough steam to fog up the room.

"I think he did," Baptiste answers quietly. "And if I had to guess, I'd say you just gave him his first ever orgasm." Lucio makes a face at that.

"I'm torn between being proud but also being horrified."

"Why horrified?" Lucio gives him a look.

"I just destroyed his innocence!"

"You're forgetting that he's a war machine," Baptiste snorts in amusement, sitting beside Bastion and petting his barrel. "He's hardly innocent."

"These are two very different things and you know it," Lucio says stubbornly.

"Luc, relax," Baptiste coaxes. "You didn't force him to do anything he didn't want to do, and from the looks of things, he really enjoyed himself."

Bastion gives a long, affirmative beep, vents still steaming faintly; he hasn't moved yet, but he's definitely still purring.

"See?" Baptiste smiles and holds out his other hand to Lucio. "Come on; aftercare is important."

Reluctantly, Lucio allows Baptiste to pull him down beside Bastion, who seems content to just lie there while they pet him, recovering slowly.

"I think," Baptiste says after several long minutes, "we can count this as a success."

"We really do have the weirdest relationship," Lucio scoffs, smiling as he traces the lines of Bastion's barrel. "You're the most normal of us, and you've got a thing for an ace and an omnic. Weirdo."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Baptiste chuckles, kissing his cheek.

Bastion makes a disgruntled sound and pulls himself together to reconfigure back into recon mode, thunking down beside them with jealous chirps. He even points at his faceplate.

"Love you too," Baptiste promises, rising to his knees to press a kiss to the corner of Bastion's faceplate as well.

"Even if you can be a bit of a brat," Lucio laughs, also kissing Bastion's faceplate.

The steam vents pop open again, and Bastion fidgets bashfully, making both of his partners laugh.


	4. ACT 4: The Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LAST CHAPTER!!
> 
> and the longest~ ;3 it's actually short than i wanted it to be, but i had a word limit, and i made sure to meet it. u-u
> 
> here comes the finale, y'all!! XD
> 
> EDIT: almost forgot, silly me. X3 this chapter features an original character of mine, a hero concept for a tank named Alex. if you're interested in learning more about her, you can check out [her sheet](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pIRhriTGCmsNmBFokUGwJw-hllfEiTXAHw0YemWlsvs/edit?usp=sharing), and you might as well take a peek at the others as well, [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nFToSg9QsLvP9bOzyF2Ccd-PzDu-H3eLEYMWxx0YEmE/edit?usp=sharing). Enjoy!

Baptiste stares blankly at his messenger, not sure he's actually seeing what he seeing. Right there, plain as day, casual as can be for a mission roster, is Siege Automaton E-54 "Bastion", alongside Lucio Correa dos Santos and Jean-Baptiste Augustin, as well as a few other names.

This has to be some kind of mistake; Bastion was banned from missions when he arrived, because everyone was worried he'd lose control in a battle situation. His trigger-happy panic responses were proof enough, and Baptiste himself recognised and reported the symptoms of severe PTSD; that report was what kept Bastion out of the field, and now all of the sudden they're changing their minds?

Baptiste puts away his messenger and heads for the briefing room. Surprisingly, Lucio is already there, listening to Reinhardt and Torbjorn argue while Winston tries to calm them down. The musician passes a half smile his way when he enters, attention still mostly focused on the argument, which is apparently about Bastion's programming.

"You can't change programming!" Reinhardt bellows. "Anymore than you can change DNA!"

"That's not true and you know it!" Torbjorn snaps. "Programming is just strings of code, and that code can be corrupted, removed, even rewritten or replaced."

"If we could just-" Winston tries.

"You of all people know what these things are capable of! They mowed us down in Eichenwald, killed my mentor; how many people have  _ you _ lost to them, Lindholm??"

"Don't you dare, you pompous old bastard!"

"I've seen them fight before," Lucio says quietly to Baptiste, "but this... This is a whole new level."

"You've got a soft spot for it," Reinhardt accuses.

"So what if I do?" Torbjorn retorts, waving his hammer around. "He's different, and you'd realise it too if you could look past your own nose!"

"Oh, it's different alright; it has PTSD, which makes it all the more dangerous!"

Baptiste takes that as his cue and clears his throat loudly to get their attention.

"Actually, that's what I'm here about."

"Oh, good!" Torbjorn laughs, triumphant. "You've gotten all close and cozy with him; tell this old fool how much he's changed in the last four months."

"First, I want to hear what Winston has to say about why he decided to put Bastion on this mission."

All eyes turn to Winston, who immediately begins stammering, flustered.

"Oh, well, I- uh,  _ ahem _ ... I suppose I-" Stopping, he sighs. "Honestly? I'm not entirely sure- I just- Well, I mean, I see a lot that happens around the base. More than you think; Athena keeps me well informed about what's going on. It gets a little much sometimes, hearing all the drama... But I think it's important to stay on top of everything, to know who needs to be separated because of an argument, or who's seeing whom so I can make sure partners stay in touch if they can't go on the same mission... It's a lot to keep in mind, so sometimes I make mistakes." He looks at Lucio and Baptiste. "But you two have come a long way since your imprisonment with Talon, and you've used your own experiences to help Bastion grow and develop in a way no one else could. Omnics like him weren't meant to evolve, but somehow, he is, and it's because you two decided to do something. This mission shouldn't be dangerous, so I figured it would be the perfect time to test how far you've all come. And I thought that by keeping you all together, then if anything  _ does _ go wrong, you can help each other. But I guess I didn't think about everyone else's opinions."

"Bastion was banned from missions because of his PTSD," Baptiste states calmly. "Putting him in a stressful situation without knowing the exact cause of it is dangerous and could result in severe consequences."

"I see," Winston sighs, disappointed. "I'll review-"

" _ However _ ," Baptiste continues pointedly, putting a halt to Reinhardt's exultation and Torbjorn's growl of irritation. "Bastion has shown remarkable progress in recovering from his trauma, and there have been no further incidents since the first. I would expect a second opinion from Dr. Zeigler, but in my professional medical opinion, if the mission is not likely to be dangerous, Bastion should be cleared for duty. On probationary terms, of course."

Lucio stifles a smile, remaining unusually silent. Reinhardt looks incredibly displeased, but Torbjorn humphs proudly, and Winston nods, slightly relieved.

"I'll talk to Mercy right away," he agrees. "In the meantime, you two should get ready to leave."

-⚯-

It's all going to hell.

"Bastion, move!" Torbjorn shouts over the comm. "Alex, cover him!" The new girl leaps in front of Bastion as he shifts back to recon mode, and with a cry of pain, she bursts into a cloud of dense fog between him and the Null Sector Nullifiers, giving him a chance to get to better cover.

"I've got Orbiters!" Hana screams over the comm, almost blowing out everyone's eardrums. "Dozens on me, and Toki's about to go down; I have to detonate!"

"Lucio, find her and get her back in one piece!" Torbjorn orders. "Baptiste, Alex is about to fall; get her out of there!"

"Way ahead of you," Baptiste says grimly, slipping through Alex's fog wall while Lucio vanishes around a corner to find Hana.

The gunfire is heavy, but Baptiste manages to take out several Nullifiers and make most of the rest dip behind cover. Behind him, Alex coalesces with a groan, collapsing, and he fires off one last burst, blowing the head off another Nullifier, before dropping an immortality field at his feet and turning. The warm pulse of the biotic field encases him, and several blasts evaporate against his skin while he helps Alex to her feet, slinging an arm over his shoulder and half carrying her away from the firefight. He falters at the edge of the field, hesitant to have his back to the enemy without the protection of the energy nanites, but Bastion appears beside them, bodily blocking the gunfire and shooting back.

"Nerf this, suckers!" Hana cackles madly over the comm.

"Damnit, Hana!" Lucio protests. "A little more warning next time? You're damn lucky I fixed my speed boost!"

"Not the time," Baptiste grits out, easing Alex down behind a wall as Bastion takes up a post at the corner and switches back to sentry mode, gatling roaring.

"We're almost back," Lucio promises. "Just cleaning up some flankers. How's Alex?"

The girl yelps as Baptiste's questing inspection prods at a particular spot; he scowls.

"Doesn't look good," he admits. "She's gone fog too many times; we need to get her back to base and into a proper biotic field, soon."

"The stuff in your canister isn't enough?"

"Not even close. And we need to get Bastion out of here, fast."

"Got it!" Torbjorn cheers, cutting off Lucio's reply. "Hana, Lucio, rendezvous with the others; I'm on my way. Just hold on a little while longer!"

"Already here," Lucio says, gliding out of the alley across the way with Hana right behind him, looking tiny outside of her mech with only a pistol blaster for protection.

Bastion suddenly shrieks, a horrifying sound of pure fear that makes all of them freeze as he reconfigures to recon mode as quickly as possible and waves frantically for Lucio and Hana to get back. Turning around, he practically throws himself over Baptiste and Alex, just in time for something massive to crash into the street between them.

"Ohh shit..." Lucio whispers. "Torb, you better be making double time, 'cause we're not lasting another five minutes."

"What... is that?" Hana asks, a strained waver in her voice that conveys all their terror perfectly.

"Obliterator," Alex breathes, staring past Bastion, who's trembling.

"Bastion?" Baptiste reaches up to touch the omnic's faceplate, but he doesn't respond or even move. "Oh no... Torbjorn, we're losing Bastion!"

"Damnit... I'm giving her all I got, but I'm still about ten minutes out. I've got you on the HUD, but I can't do anything."

Baptiste looks around, putting aside his fear to take in their situation. Alex is down for the count; after using her abilities so many times in so short a period, she'll be lucky to survive at all. Lucio isn't a heavy hitter, and without her mech, Hana's only benefit is being small and easy to miss; her aim isn't perfect either, since she's more used to shotgun-style weapons. With Bastion lost in his memories, that leaves Baptiste as the only one capable of doing any real damage.

"Shit... We have to retreat," he decides. "Lucio, I'm going to give you an opening; get Hana over here and take her and Alex to Torbjorn. I'll stay here with Bastion until he snaps out of it or you come to get us."

"That's suicide!" Lucio exclaims, horrified. He starts to say something else, only for an earthshaking tone to rumble off the giant Obliterator rising to its feet, huge double barrel cannons on each arm powering up with a deep hum.

"Do it, Luc!" Baptiste roars, dodging around Bastion and into the street. He aims for the centre of one of the guns, hoping to at least disrupt the power up, if not destroy it entirely. With a growl of frustration, Lucio scoops up Hana and zips past, setting her down beside Alex; the two of them work together to help Alex stand, and then head back the way they came.

"You three are clear all the way to me," Torbjorn says. "Touching down in three minutes. Baptiste, you just need to hold out for seven."

"Easier said than done!" Baptiste grunts, dodging into the alley Lucio and Hana came out of to reload. The Obliterators cannons are still powering up, but the Nullifiers are closing in, and he can't deal with all of them, certainly not while trying to protect a comatose Bastion.

"Just hold on, Baptiste," Lucio says, a heavy note of pleading in his voice.

Before Baptiste can answer, the Obliterator fires both cannons on his position, and the blast tears out practically the entire corner of the building, slamming Baptiste against the opposite wall and pelting him with rubble. Cursing, he drags himself up and digs his gun out from under chunks of concrete and rebar and plaster.

"Oh Goddess..." He quickly checks his canister of biotic aerosol and groans.

"What?" Panic is creeping into Lucio's voice. "What's going on? What happened?"

"My gun... My canister... I've got nothing. Torbjorn, I can't take another hit like that, and the Nullifiers are converging on Bastion."

The silence over the line is deafening even in Baptiste's ringing ears, and he stares helplessly at Bastion, who still hasn't moved, a pair of Nullifiers approaching carefully.

"How long until the next shot?" Torbjorn asks grimly.

"If it has to fully charge like the first shot, three minutes." He doesn't say that it's already almost charged again.

"Baptiste..." Lucio whispers brokenly.

"Worry about Bastion, Luc. I'll try to-" He doesn't get to finish before a Nullifier blasts his shoulder, sending him staggering with a string of curses.

"Baptiste!"

"I'm so sorry,  _ krapo ti kras mwen _ ..." Baptiste gasps, leaning heavily against the wall. He can't feel his arm, or his hand, or most of his chest, and Nullifiers are closing in.

If the Obliterator doesn't kill him first.

Lucio is screaming at him, but he tunes it out, closing his eyes and recalling the best memories he can remember, trying very hard to come to terms with the death he knows is coming.

But instead of a flash of light and pain, he hears an explosion and feels only a wave of hot air. Opening his eyes, he stares in speechless awe as Bastion barrels through the Nullifiers in a new configuration, like a small, incredibly mobile tank. Every explosion destroys Nullifiers, scattering parts in a scene that could only be more gruesome if there was blood.

Then he notices movement; the Obliterator shifts to target Bastion, and his blood runs cold.

"No! Bastion!" Without hesitation, he does the only thing he can do; he throws his gun at the Obliterator to get its attention, somehow hitting dead centre between one of the double cannons.

It does nothing of course, but the Obliterator pauses, looking at him, and the shout gets Bastion's attention. Turning, he fires at the cannons, blowing massive holes in one just as the Obliterator shoots. The cannons on that side backfire, literally, exploding up the entire side of the Obliterator, and the gun jammed between cannons on the other side splits the beam; one part hits the ground at Baptiste's feet, showering him in dirt, gravel, and bits of cement, while the other part shears off the top corner of the building above.

Amazed that he actually survived, he watches blankly as Bastion shreds the other cannon with one last shot before reconfiguring and approaching the stunned Obliterator, looking comically small for how large he is. He reaches up and grabs a jut on the Obliterator's main body, digging his fingers into the metal with a wrenching screech and dragging it down to his level. Jamming his gun barrel into an optic port, he buzzes something unintelligible but unmistakably threatening and fires off a couple rounds into the Obliterator's central processor.

The ship lands in the street as the Obliterator collapses and the Nullifiers scatter, but Baptiste is staring at Bastion, who turns and plods heavily toward him. He raises his hand, but stops before he touches Baptiste, chirping sadly. Not bothering to figure out what he said, Baptiste steps forward and throws his arms around the omnic, ignoring the discomfort of it to hug him tightly. Somewhere behind, the ship's ramp lowers and Lucio launches off it toward them.

"I owe you my life, Bastion, but don't ever give back my heart; it's yours, and Lucio's, and I wouldn't have it any other way."


End file.
